INDIANAPOLIS -- Romeo Crennel, fired as head coach of the Browns after the 2008 season, is excited about getting a second chance as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Crennel took over in Kansas City when Todd Haley was fired with three games to play in 2011 and went 2-1. He has the distinction of handing the Packers their only loss in the regular season last year.

"A lot of times you don't get second chances in this business," Crennel said Saturday at the NFL scouting combine. "You just go along and try to do the best job you can at the job you have.

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"If you do that, people will take notice then give you chances. So I've got a second chance, and I'm going to try to do it better than I did the first time around."

Crennel was 6-10, 4-12, 10-6 and 4-12 in his four years running the Browns. No coach has lasted as long in the expansion era. He said he is better prepared now because he knows what problems to anticipate and will do all he can to avoid quarterback controversies like the one that brewed in Cleveland between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.

Former Browns general manager Phil Savage was fired along with Crennel after the disastrous 2008 season. Kansas City is a better fit for Crennel because Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and Crennel were together in New England from 2001-2004. Pioli was the Patriots' GM and Crennel was the defensive coordinator. Head coach Bill Belichick gets all the credit for New England's success, but the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since Crennel left.

"I think it will be a good partnership," Crennel said. "We worked together in New England, and it's a similar system with similar philosophies, so it should be good for us."

Crennel revealed he is a big fan of quarterback Robert Griffin III. The Chiefs draft 11th in the first round and have not ruled out trying to move up to get him.

Like a Hurricane

One of the more intriguing defensive players at the combine is defensive end/outside linebacker Oliver Vernon from Miami (Fla.). The 265-pounder says he expects to go in the top two rounds, but NFLDraftScout.com projects him as a fifth-round pick.

Vernon is one of the Hurricanes who was suspended for six games in 2011 for associating with Nevin Shapiro, the rich Miami booster who has since been jailed. One of Vernon's missions is to convince NFL teams he doesn't have character issues.

"I was in high school and the person who recruited me introduced me to Nevin Shapiro," Vernon told reporters at the combine. "I met with him on three occasions, and when he got incarcerated, he said I took benefits from him. That's what happened. That's what got me six games.

"I didn't really associate myself with him. When I went to the University of Miami, I didn't have any type of communication from him. He was kind of a shaky person. But I should have known better in high school. If some person comes around and tries to give you things, take you out, I should have known better than that."

The Browns are looking for an end to challenge if not replace Jayme Mitchell on the right side. Vernon had three sacks in the six games he played in 2011.

Travelin' man

Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, a product of Regina University in Canada, gets the trophy for the most-traveled player at the combine.

He started out at Sacramento Junior College in California and transferred to LSU. That didn't work out, so he headed north to play in Saskatchewan.

"A recruiting violation stopped me from being eligible to play at LSU," he said. "When it came time, I was told I could transfer (to another NCAA school) because I wouldn't be eligible to play at LSU. So I chose to leave. In that span, the opportunity to transfer never came because the investigation was still pending. The investigation -- don't quote me on this -- didn't wrap up until last year, or something like that.

"So my clock was eaten up. It was eaten alive. I ended up making the best decision for myself, and that was going to Canada.''

Hicks is projected as a fourth-round pick.

Flynn could go free

It isn't a bulletin, but it is looking more and more like the Packers will let quarterback Matt Flynn go in free agency, according to reports from Green Bay. They could use the franchise tag on him and then trade him to a suitor for a high draft pick, but the tag would cost $14.5 million.

Such a hefty tag doesn't work for two reasons. The Packers don't have the salary-cap room, but worse than that, starter Aaron Rodgers will make $8 million in 2012. The Packers would have a honked-off Rodgers on their hands if they were unable to trade Flynn.